The River Verdon rises high in the Alps and flows south for 166km until it joins the Durance near Saint Paul les Durance. On its journey it has carved the breathtaking Gorge du Verdon, 700 metres deep in some places & known by some as the Grand Canyon of Europe. Five artificial lakes have been created along the path of the river by constructing hydroelectric dams. These play host to numerous water-based activity centres, like slide-pedalo hire, canoe & paddle board blow up, uptake & launch, opportunities for canyoning & rafting & electric boat hire on the lakes. A road follows the snags & bends of the gorge itself as it cuts a 25 km gash through the plateau top. At times vehicles unload their human cargo to peer down from the heights onto the tinted blues that lap scrub-covered edges of the numerous lakes below.

To start our explorations we leave the main road at Vinon sur Verdun and follow the river north into the Verdon Natural Regional Park, a land of dramatic, limestone scenery, turquoise lakes & lavender plateaus. To start with you get up close & familiar with the river as it ribbles its way downstream, providing delightful spots for paddling & picnics.

The first town on our route is a small hilltop settlement called Greoux les Bains. Medieval streets & houses cluster together around the foot of the hill where the chateau stands supreme.

Higher into the NP the first dam can be seen below the road. A huge mound of earth & rocks holds back the river, creating electricity in the process & forming nodules of water-based activities along the banks.

Esparron de Verdon is a small, ancient village overlooking the last lake on the gorge’s run. As well as the usual medieval elements of narrow cobbled streets, quaint houses, an impressive chateau & a forgiving church, the village also hosts a water activities & boat hire centre & several bars & restaurants to service the many summer visitors.

Frank at the Paddle Centre Cafe does a mean lemonade & ginger detox drink.

The delight of the Verdon NP is that you can take a road route through some glorious canyon-biased scenery based on dry scree & crags & outcrops, held together by the roots of scruffy shrubs, bushes & dwarfed trees. In this way, you can come across some timeless views of medieval streets & ancient castles & chateaus (what is the difference?). Going further up onto the plateau, the distant Alps shadow dry-earthed farmland where olives, vines & lavender flourish.

Back down to the flatness of the valley bottom, several villages/towns line the road that runs through organised, meadowed farmland. These settlements originated centuries ago when a lord owned the manor and the workers nested into narrow streets of shuttered homes, now upgraded by visiting well-todo’s. Allemagne en Provence (literally Germany in Provence) is timeless…..& seemingly closed for winter,

Valensole is bigger & got a bit more going for it, with a few bars open down in its modern parts, hiding from the big, old church that continually bears down on us poor sinners.